Tmac is our best player and I love him. But having Yao and not being a contender, because of Tmac's back, is not acceptable. Our window of opportunity is the next 3-4 years. I hate to see this organization not making the right moves to bring us at least one ring. With that being said, when is it time to reconsider Tmac options. I feel that Tmac is the best player to pair up with Yao. But if his back give out on him once more after this recovery, then it is time to make some changes.
I agree..if tmac's back is going to be a recurring problem, the rockets have to find a solution. Even with Yao's dominating performances of late, he still cannot carry the team, not with its current roster.
Sorry but we don't have any other choice. If you think we could get someone close to as productive for Tracy then your dreaming.
This thread is terrible, what are we going to do bench him? Release him? Trade him for who? What team would take on 3 more years of his contract with chronic back problems. Think before you start a thread.
agreed! What choice do we have. We are a better team with him on the floor conversely no noone would take him and his contract. We have to make the best of it. It may be time to plan for the post T-Mac era though. Don't keep bringing in veterans -- bring in young talent. E.g. trading for Battier made sense for a team with a healthy T-Mac and Yao --- it doesn't make sense if we're planning for future.
trade him asap have him play few games, just to boost up his value and then get a good PG and a smart forward
He's had back spasms all his career and he's dealt with them. Everyone's talking about him missing 35-40 games a season because that's what happened last season. Well, last season was special because he was injured on 2 different occasions resulting in 3 different episodes. Last season was the only season he missed serious time. If he misses serious time again very soon THEN i'd say it's pretty much over but if he goes for a good stretch of games (maybe until all-star break or longer or something) before having a slight episode, then it's just the normal back spasms he's dealt with his entire career and those were expected when the franchise traded for him. Again, i'm not saying he'll be fine, but he's had back spasms his entire career and last season was an exception. It depends on how long he goes without having another spasm. It's not like we could get anywhere near what he's worth anyways. Look at the Iverson trade, although his stock was depleted because he demanded a trade, look at the "value" Philadelphia got for him. It's going to be the same way with T-Mac. T-Mac would probably be even worse because his back problem just keeps coming back. I knew these threads would pop up after a loss...
People, we will not get even close to equal value for Tracy because of his back. We would be better advised to hope for a low seed playoff run with a healthy Tracy instead of giving him away for scraps.
this is another possible scenario other than trading or buying out him. If we got a low playoff seed, we will most likely play with Spurs, which is at least better than with Suns, I guess.
When something is chronic it doesn't usually get better. It either stays its course or gets worse That's the problem. Sure I'd like a McGrady that can play 75-80 games a season, but spurts like that is only good for the short term. Who knows, maybe he'll return and play at full strength. But I seriously doubt that will happened because of the way it was aggravated against Washington. You can't hope that he comes back and everything is fine only to have it flare up at the worst of times (i.e. Playoffs) Philly got pennies on the dollar for Iverson because Billy King is a Grade A moron. They sermoned about how they wanted picks, young players, and expiring contracts. They got 2 out of 3 but I want to know why/how they did not ask for JR Smith as well. So whatever Philly got for Iverson is an indicator on the front office, not on Iverson's ability..who is still putting up 30 points a night. I'm not saying we should trade McGrady (because there probably isn't a market out there) but the Rockets should form a game plan that doesn't include him. So far, I see Van Gundy doing patchwork offense. I hate to bring them up as an example but Phoenix made a new game plan when Amare went out. Granted our talent level will never match theirs, but they made changes and adapt to the situation. Right now, it's just Yao (which is understandable) doing it all. The probability of us winning without McGrady has been well documented--we just suck. So why insist on putting a vice grip on your bench, who by the way, could actually help alleviate exhaustion from your starters? If they suck so bad, when bring them on board in the first place? It isn't a matter about how bad they are--it's a matter of how limited their playing time/experience the coach gives them.
It's not like McGrady is failing us with this, there's very little he can do. Degen. Disc conditions like his are chronic and they only get worse over time. It's a matter of when, not if, he ends up having back surgery (like Peja this past week). I'm grateful for all he's gutted through. Evan
A hyperthetical question: should we have traded Tmac for Andre Miller J Johnson and 2 1st-rounders? (or maybe 1 1st-rounder as a discount for Tmac's back). I just don't think Tmac will ever be healthy enough for a RING.
This thread is not one of those thread that pops up after a lost. I started this thread to see where people on this board stand on the Tmac issue. I think the organization is at a tough juncture to make one of those decision that will go down in Rockets' history. One day people look back and can be either glad we kept Tmac, because he brought us the championship, or dissapointed, because Tmac's back fail to deliver over and over again. It's a high risk stake at the moment and the decision is not easy. What would you do if you could pull the trigger?
Only tangentially related, but I'm sick of those "window of opportuniy is only 3 years" comments. Our window is the next 6, 7 years. Yao is 26. We can all agree that at the very least, at the absolute bare minimum, he'll be in his prime until the age of 30. So that's 4 years--bare minimum. When speedy athletic players get older, they get slower. Well Yao isn't going to get shorter. Something tells me that when he's 31 and 32, barring injuries, he's not going to become an overnight slouch. Yao's game is based on solid footwork, reliable post-up moves, and height. Those aren't going away when he hits 31.
If I can trade Tmac for a top PG and a near top PF (both young and healthy) I would be very happy. Because I think we would have more chance to win something.
Yao's dominance can carrry the team for sure, but only for 46 mins, we just need someone to close the guy, big guys can never be a clutch shooter. T-mac should be perfect for this role, but with his back, NO.
no one will take that contract unless someone wants to take a chance and in that rare case you know we will get one crappy ass contract in return
